A very happy birthday to the veteran Indian cricketer, cricket coach and administrator, Dilip Vengsarkar who turned 64 this year on April 6 this year!
Dilip Vengsarkar Biography
Dilip (Balwant) Vengsarkar is recognised as one of the leading exponents of the drive. According to the computer ratings and his Bradmanesque run in the mid-1980s, he was undoubtedly considered as one of the best batsmen of the world. Between 1983 and 1987, he looked over the achievements of the elite group encompassing Viv Richards, Javed Miandad, David Gower, Martin Crowe, Gordon Greenidge and others by some distance except Allan Border. He never swaggered larger than life and was a mute staunch who never amused media with his views.
Popularly known by his pen name ‘Colonel’, Dilip Vengasarkar was born on 6th April 1956 in Rajapur in the state of Maharashtra, India. He started playing cricket at a very early age and created excitement in his teenage. He learnt first-class cricket at the school and university level.
Dilip Vengsarkar Cricket Career
The right-handed batsman Dilip Vengasarkar overcame the notable cricketer Kapil Dev as the captain of the Indian international team.
One of the most outstanding batsmen of India Dilip gave 16 years of his life to Indian cricket as his career and shot into the prominence with his extraordinary performances. During his teenage, he startled the episode when he recorded the tempestuous century for Bombay against the Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match at Nagpur in 1975. In this process, when Prasanna and Bedi were at the spike, Dilip gave them a heavy toll with his immeasurable potential. After this solid performance, he was directly conscripted in the Indian team.
Dilip played his first international test cricket match on 24th January 1976. He played as an opening batsman against New Zealand in Auckland and conclusively India won that match. On 21st February 1976, he instigated his One Day International career with an ODI match against New Zealand at Christchurch.
Vengsarkar panned out as the batting rampant for nearly 15 years after making his place in the Australian tour in 1977-78. He was ranked as India’s No. 3 and acquired a principal position to mentor the fate of the country’s batting for more than decennium.
During the 1978-79 Test Series in India against West Indies at Calcutta, he along with his partner Sunil Gavaskar had healthy participation scoring over 300 runs and duo also recorded century for them.
After the 1983 World Cup Cricket, he became an essential and honoured member of the Indian squad that exhibited the nation at the international level and marked a victory in its name. He delivered rocking performances amongst the years 1985 and 1987 and tallied many centuries against powerful teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan. In the Coopers and Lybrand rating (now merged into Pricewaterhouse Coopers), Vengsarkar was graded as the best batsmen at the crest of his career.
After the 1987 World Cup Tournament, he acted as the captain of the Indian Cricket Team and had driven the Indian team in 10 Test matches. Later in the year 1989, he relinquished his position because the conflicts flared up during his USA tour.
If we have a glimpse at his overall performance, he played in a total of 116 Test matches and registered 6868 runs encompassing 17 centuries and 35 half-centuries with an average of 42.13 runs and a highest score of 166 runs. Well, if we talk about his overall One Day International Cricket career, he played 129 matches in all and tallied 3508 runs including 1 century and 23 half-centuries with an average of 34.73 runs and a highest score of 105 runs.
In 1995, Dilip Vengsarkar announced his Elf-Vengsarkar academy at Mumbai after withdrawing from active cricket. He became the Vice-President of the Mumbai Cricket Association in the year 2003 and later was announced as the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket) in India. Currently, he is serving as Chief Adviser of the Cricket Association of Telangana.
At present, Dilip Vengsarkar is running 3 cricket academies – two in Mumbai and one in Pune. These academies provide free cricket training to the selected players chosen based on their skills. Lately, he has announced his website whose goal is to aid the rising players of India to move a step ahead.
Dilip Vengsarkar Achievements
- Dilip Vengsarkar was honoured with the prestigious awards for his stunning deliveries in the Indian cricket which include the Arjuna Award in the year 1981 and Padma Shri by the Government of India in the year 1987.
- In 1987, he was titled as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year by the popular Cricket magazine, Wisden.
- Vengsarkar is also recognised for recording 3 consecutive Test centuries at the Lord’s ground and was conferred with the ‘Man of the Series’ Award in 1986 when India booked a victory over England.
- In the year 2003, Dilip Vengsarkar became the Vice-President of the Mumbai Cricket Association.
- In 2006, he eventuated as the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
- Board of Control for Cricket in India has bestowed him with the esteemed CK Naidu Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dilip Vengsarkar Personal Life
Dilip tied the knot with Manali Vengsarkar and the couple is blessed with two children – on son named Nakul and one daughter named Pallavi.
Dilip Vengsarkar Images on India Content Website
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